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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. charge — electricity
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. net — in sport
  9. content — the amount
  10. cell — in biology
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. net — after costs
  13. fine — high quality
  14. content — happy
  15. charge — in control
  16. band — a ring
  17. cell — a phone
  18. charge — a price
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. net — for catching
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. band — a music group

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com